Royal Hospital Wins Prestigious International Award in Adolescent Health

Muscat: The Royal Hospital, represented by its Adolescent Medicine Unit, has achieved international distinction by winning the Hilary E.C. Millar Award for Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Health Care for the year 2026. This award is presented by the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) in the United States of America. According to Oman News Agency, the Society conferred this award upon Dr. Nahid Mohammed Jaber, Consultant in Adolescent Medicine and Head of the Adolescent Medicine Unit at the Royal Hospital. She becomes the first Arab physician to receive this honor since the award's inception. This achievement represents a culmination of the pioneering role undertaken by the Royal Hospital in embracing medical innovation. Dr. Nahid Al Jaber led the efforts to establish the first comprehensive Adolescent Medicine Unit in the Sultanate of Oman, designed to address the developmental and psychological needs of this age group. The innovation for which the award was received included the integra tion of Adolescent Medicine as a mandatory rotation for all resident physicians in the Pediatrics program at Oman Medical Specialty Board. This ensures the sustainability of professional competency and the training of successive generations of physicians according to international standards. The significance of this accomplishment is further underscored by the development of the "Healthcare Transition" model at the Royal Hospital, which was designed by Dr. Nahid to ensure a safe and organized transition for adolescents with chronic diseases from pediatric to adult care. This structural transformation addresses a major clinical gap and enhances patients' quality of life.